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J. H. STONE. SHEET METAL CAN.

Patented Oct. 6, 1868.

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Letters Patent No. 82,766, dated October'fi, 186 8; antealateal September 26, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN SHEET-METAL CAN S.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. STONE, of the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Sheet-Metal Vessels and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description 'of the construction and operation of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings,'making a part of this specification, in which I Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section of a powder-can having my said improvement applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a sectional portion of fig. 1 enlarged, and

Figure 3 a plane view of the mouth-closing slide.

Like letters of reference indicate thesame parts when in the different figures.

The object of myimprovement is to-give additional strength and protection to the lap-joint, which is usually formed between the end and side plates of sheetmetal cans and other vessels, and to the chime or rim which is formed by the said joint, and projects aroundand beyond the fiat end. plates of such vessels, and. also to afford a more simple and secure device for closing themouths of such sheet-metal vessels as require small mouths.

My invention consists in applying andsecuring the end plates to the side plates of sheet-metal vessels, by means of an inside head in combination with a broad lap-joint, consisting of threc thickncsses of the sheet metal compressed together, and then bent so as to produce a strong, close joint, having a flange projecting at about a right angle therefrom, around on the inner side of the same, substantially as hereinafter described and shown.

And my invention also consists, in the construction and application, substantially as hercinafter'describcd and shown, of a sliding cover for the mouths of such sheet-metal vessels as require small mouths, as powdercans, dtc.

In the drawings, A A represent the opposite sides of a powder-can; B'B, the opposite ends of the same, a being the bead, and c d the lap-joint and flange; and E the sliding stopper for the mouth of the vessel.

The heads a a are produced around on the inner side of A, by an annular groove or indentation made in the outer side, at a suitable distance from each of its ends, so as to form a shoulder, a, for supporting the respective end plates 13. Each of the said end plates B has its edge a first turned at a right angle, and then inserted within the end of the body of the intended vessel, so as to fit the same, and rest upon the bead a with its turned edge outward, the width of said turned edge e of the said end plate, being about half the width of that part of the side plateA which projects outward from the bead a. This latter part of A is now bent inward and downward over the projecting edge u of B, and the three parts then pressed closely together, thus forming a broad, close joint 0 ii, consisting of three thicknesses of the metal. The upper half of this lap-joint is now turned inward, until brought parallel to the surface of the end plate B, or so as to produce the inside annular flange d, substantially as represented in figs. 1 and 2. i

The sliding stopper or cover E F for the mouth of the can, consists of a small, square plate, F, of the sheet metal, having a hole punched through its middle, abouta quarter of an inch less in its diameter than the diameter of the mouth-hole in the can, over which latter the said plate F is applied, and secured by turning the projecting edge of its hole down under the edge of the hole in the plate B, and then swaging it close under the edge of the plate around the hole in the said plate 13, the two side cdgesff of the plate F, being previously turned over inward, so as to form hips for receiving, guiding, and holding the slide E, as shown in figs. 1 and 3. The slide E is a flat piece of sheet metal, cut of proper width to slide within the two lapsff, its outer end a being bent over upon it, so that the slide E will thereby catch over the entering ends off when it is pushed inward, so as to cover the mouth of the can, and its inner end notched out so as to leave two projections, e c, which can be turned up and over upon the corresponding ends of f as indicated by the dotted line in fig. 1, and thus fasten the slide securely in place when closed, and at the same time admit of itsbcing easily released by turning the projections e e back again when it is desired to open the can.

This improvement in sheet-metal vessels is of great importance to manufacturers of gunpowder, whiteead, and others who require very strong and tight-jointed cans, because such vessels are liable to frequent exposure to the weather, and to rough handling in transportation; and it will be seen that the parts most-liable to damage, 2'. e., the projecting rims,,are by this construction strongly supported by the internal flange d, and that, at the same time, the greater extension or b :j-adth of the joint produced, increases its tightness and durability as such. I

The sliding stopper E F affords a perfectly secure and easily constructed and applied cover for thermouth cf the vessel, and one that is not liable to be easily knocked off or broken open in handling the vessel roughly.

Having thus fully described my improvement in sheet-metal vessels, what I claim as new therein of my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is confined to the following, viz

1. I claim, in combination with the internal head a, a lap-joint consisting of three thicknesses of the sheet metal pressed closely together, and the upper half of the same then bent inward to a right angle, so as to produce the annular flange 02 around on the inner side of the chime of the vessel, and parallel with the end plate of the some, substantially as set forth and described, for the purposes specified.

2. I also claim the sliding stopper or cover E F, constructed and operated as set forth, for the purpose of closing the mouths of sheet-metal vessels, as described.

J. H. STONE Witnesses:

BENJ. Momson, WM. H. Monrson'. 

